Give to the Max Day 2025

Our story began with love — the kind of love every parent has for their child. Our son, Randy, was bright, funny, creative, and hardworking. He was a friend to many, a caring big brother, and a young man with big dreams. But those dreams were cut short when our family’s life was shattered by something we never saw coming — cannabis-induced psychosis.

At just 21 years old, after using today’s high-potency THC products, Randy suffered a mental crisis and experienced cannabis-induced psychosis that led to his tragic death by suicide in 2021. We immediately began asking, “Why?”. 

We learned that marijuana has changed drastically — products on the market today are not the same as those of decades past. Some THC products now contain concentrations exceeding 90%, and the impact on the developing brain can be devastating.

Our story continues with love - the love of others and out of our heartbreak, we found purpose. We founded Be Extraordinary, Be You, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to educating youth, parents, and communities about the dangers of today’s high-potency THC and its connection to addiction, depression, anxiety, psychosis, and suicide. Through our educational presentations, we share not only Randy’s story but also the science — helping students understand how these substances affect the brain, mental health, and decision-making during the most critical years of development.

Our mission is rooted in hope: to empower youth to make informed choices grounded in truth, to be confident in who they are, to recognize that they don’t need substances to belong, to cope, or to succeed and to seek professional help when struggling.

Since launching Be Extraordinary, Be You, we have spoken in schools, churches, parent groups, and community organizations across Minnesota and beyond. We’ve watched students’ eyes widen in realization. We’ve heard them say, “I didn’t know,” and we’ve seen the power of awareness begin to change lives.

But there are still so many young people we haven’t reached yet.

This Give to the Max Day, we invite you to join us in expanding our impact.

Your donation will help us:

💛 Provide presentations to schools that cannot afford speaker fees — ensuring that no student misses out on this life-saving education.

💛 Print educational materials and resources for students, parents, and educators to keep the conversation going long after our presentation ends.

💛 Attend conferences and community events where we can advocate for stronger awareness and prevention measures.

💛 Develop additional tools and programs that empower youth to live extraordinary lives — free from the harms of high-potency THC and addiction.

Every dollar makes a difference. Every gift helps us prevent another family from experiencing the unimaginable pain of losing a child.

Our hope is that through education, conversation, and compassion, we can create a culture where youth are informed, supported, and confident in saying “I choose my health and wellbeing over drugs. I choose to be extraordinary.”

This Give to the Max Day, your generosity can help us protect more young minds, reach more hearts, and change more lives.

Together, we can turn loss into purpose — and pain into prevention.

💛 In loving memory of our son, Randy and all of our friends who have lost a child to addiction, accidental overdose, poisoning, suicide, schizophrenia or bipolar — and in honor of every child whose future we can still protect.

Donate now and your gift will be matched up to $5,000!